Swedish mezzo-soprano Annie Ternström has won the 12th Elizabeth Connell Prize in London, becoming the first mezzo-soprano to take top honours in the competition for emerging dramatic female voices.

The 27-year-old claimed the £15,000 first prize after the final on Sunday 19 April at Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music. Founded by the late South African soprano Elizabeth Connell, the prize is open to singers under 35 and was established to support aspiring dramatic female voices.

This year’s competition drew 156 entrants from 36 countries.

Annie Ternström in her Elizabeth Connell Prize performance. Photo supplied

Ternström is currently completing a Master of Arts in musikdramatische Darstellung at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, studying with mezzo-soprano Michaela Schuster. She is also supported by scholarships from the Swedish Richard Wagner Association and the Gabriele Lechner Foundation for young dramatic voices.

Recent appearances include Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle in Stockholm and John Musto’s opera Later the Same Evening in Vienna. She is scheduled to sing her first Carmen in Sweden in 2026.

For the final round, held over four stages of competition, Ternström performed Fricka’s aria “Wo in Bergen… So ist es denn aus” from Wagner’s Die Walküre and Carmen’s “Voyons que j’essaie… En vain pour éviter”.

The judging panel comprised Dame Anne Evans, Bernadette Cullen, Simon O’Neill, English National Opera casting director Matthew Broom and chief executive/trustee Fiona Janes.

Second prize of £7,500 and the £1,000 audience prize went to South Korea’s Songha Lee, while Finland’s Jenni Hietala received the £5,000 third prize.

The remaining finalists – each awarded £3,000 – were Queensland-born Melissa Gregory, Canada’s Ariane Cossette and South Korea’s Hyunseo Lee.

Cullen praised the winner, saying Ternström possessed “a strong, potentially dramatic mezzo voice” and an innate ability to communicate with audiences “with a true and honest intensity.”